Werewolf: Friend or Foe?

Werewolves have been in folklore and stories for centuries. In fact, no one is really sure where they originated. They've popped up in Greco-Roman myths, Norse mythology, medieval writings and children's fairy tales. There are hundreds of instances of them littered throughout history; however, there is no definitive text on these creatures. I wasn't until Lon Chaney Jr. sprouted fur under the full moon in the 1941 classic The Wolf Man that werewolves finally had a definitive resource. It's intriguing that werewolves would end up being defined by the "silver" screen.

Anyways, that movie set the standard for many many more lunarly challenged individuals. Werewolves soon were rivaling vampires for the top monster spot in monster movies. They were ferocious, deadly, human and not. The beast mentality with human intelligence was a fearsome thing. Movie after movie featured people being slashed apart and eaten by razor sharp claws and teeth. And let me tell you, watch enough of those movies and even the most stalwart individual will be jumping at rustling bushes.

So here's the question... When did the werewolf go from being feared to now being hailed? When did they go from being creatures of nightmare to creatures of lust? Walk down the romance aisle of barnes and noble and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. And then there's the Twilight series. Team Jacob... Good grief. Who decided that werewolves weren't scary anymore? Who decided that they were gentle and you should look into adopting one from your local shelter (don't forget to spay and neuter)? After all the witch hunts throughout history, after all the ideas of lycanthropy associated with serial killers, after all the bloody movies... What happened?

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy both sides of the fence. I'm the first to go see the new bloody werewolf flick, but I'm also an admitted fan of the more human werewolf, but I still like them with teeth. Removing the danger from werewolves removes their fascination.

So... Friend or foe?

Perhaps the moon will tell...